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HORSE RACING; Recording Could Close Bet Loophole

A recording device used by some off-track wagering outlets but not by Catskill OTB could have circumvented many of the problems now surrounding the Breeders' Cup Ultra Pick Six. The same device is mandatory in some states but not in New York.

Derrick Davis, a 29-year-old Baltimore man, made his winning wager, which is now under investigation, through Catskill OTB's phone-betting system. Davis placed his bet through what is known in the industry as an interactive voice response system, keying in his bets over a touch-tone telephone.

The technology is available to record each wager made this way and to decipher exactly what numbers the customer bet based on the touch tones. According to industry sources, Catskill never purchased the equipment. Efforts to reach Catskill OTB's president, Don Groth, were unsuccessful yesterday.

Had Catskill had the recording device, investigators would have been able to tell the exact nature of Davis's bet and the numbers used on the ticket. Davis is under investigation along with Chris Harn, a 29-year-old software engineer who was dismissed last week by Autotote, the company that processes wagers for Catskill OTB.

That Catskill does not use the recording equipment may have made it vulnerable to the possible chicanery that could have taken place with the pick six. Catskill is also one of only a handful of Autotote customers that allows its patrons to use the interactive voice response technology. Standard phone bets made audibly to an operator are routinely recorded by all off-track betting systems.

When asked if the New York State Racing and Wagering Board would require New York betting operators to install the technology, a board spokeswoman, Stacy Clifford, said: ''It's possible and not just here. I think this is something all racing jurisdictions will want to look at. It would be wrong not to. But first let's let the investigation play out before we jump to conclusions. We have to see exactly what happened before we decide what to fix.''

It was not clear last night which states require the recording device, but a spokesman for Connecticut OTB confirmed that the equipment is required in that state.

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An official at the Fair Grounds Racetrack in New Orleans, which accepts I.V.R. bets, said he believes the equipment is a must.

''I'm not sure if Louisiana requires it or not, but it's something we knew we needed to have,'' Bryan Krantz, president and general manager of the Fair Grounds, said. ''It's mainly used if there are any discrepancies concerning complaints from customers who say we got their bet wrong. The industry is going to have to look more stringently now at the type of security procedures that are in place and how these systems operate.''

Many in the industry fear that the pick-six scandal will have wide-ranging repercussions, eroding consumer confidence. At least one early sign, though, indicated that bettors are not afraid to throw their money into bets like the pick six.

Santa Anita handled $1.3 million on its pick six last Saturday after guaranteeing there would be at least $1 million in the pool. Tracks occasionally make the $1 million guarantee to increase business in the pick six, but such a large pool is exactly the type of bet that might attract wrongdoing. On the comparable Saturday last year, Santa Anita handled only $1.2 million on its guaranteed pick six.

The Wagering Technology Working Group, formed by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association in the wake of the scandal, met for the first time yesterday and, among other things, reviewed the credentials of an independent technical auditing firm.

''The incidents now under investigation represent a wake-up call to which our industry is responding vigorously,'' the N.T.R.A.'s commissioner, Tim Smith, said. ''We are committed to implementing all reforms necessary to assure the integrity of racing's wagering systems.''